Electronic album apparatus and method of controlling operation of same

ABSTRACT

An electronic album is created taking into consideration the intentions of the user regarding electronic album creation. Face images are extracted from among a number of images for an electronic album and the face images are displayed on a display screen. A face image of an important person is dragged and dropped onto an important image setting area, and the face image of a person not required to be included in the electronic album is dragged and dropped onto an excluded image setting area. An electronic album in line with user intentions is created so as to increase the proportion of images of an important person and exclude images of unwanted persons.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of PCT International Application No.PCT JP2014/053972 filed on Feb. 20, 2014, which claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-047553 filedMar. 11, 2013. Each of the above application(s) is hereby expresslyincorporated by reference, in its entirety, into the presentapplication.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an electronic album apparatus as well as amethod and recording medium storing a program for controlling theoperation thereof.

Description of the Related Art

Electronic albums available in the art are adapted so that a number ofimages captured as by a digital camera can be enjoyed in a mannersimilar to that of a paper photograph album. In order to achieve this,there is a system in which a number of images are assigned to each pageconstituting the electronic album, thereby creating the electronic album(Patent Document 1). Further, there is a system adapted to generateclassification information for classifying multiple image files and usethe generated classification information to control the display ofmultiple image files (Patent Document 2).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2012-9072

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2002-49907

According to both Patent Documents 1 and 2, however, an electronic albumis created without taking into consideration the intentions of the userwhen it comes to electronic album creation. The user needs to correctthe electronic album.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to create an electronic albumtaking into consideration the intentions of the user regardingelectronic album creation.

An electronic album apparatus according to the present inventionincludes: a reading device (reading means) for reading a number ofimages for electronic album creation; an electronic album image displaycontrol device (electronic album image display control means) forcontrolling a display device so as to display on a display screen atleast some of the images for electronic album creation read by thereading device; an important image setting device (important imagesetting means) responsive to a designation from a user for settingimportant images from among the images being displayed on the displayscreen under the control of the electronic-album image display controldevice; and an electronic album display control device (electronic albumdisplay control means) for controlling the display device so as todisplay on the display screen an electronic album created using thenumber of images for electronic album creation in such a manner that aproportion of important images, which have been set by the importantimage setting device, included in the electronic album is larger than aproportion of included images other than the important images.

The present invention also provides an operation control method suitedto the above-described electronic album apparatus. Specifically, thepresent invention provides a method of controlling operation of anelectronic album apparatus, comprising steps of: reading a number ofimages for electronic album creation; controlling a display device so asto display on a display screen at least some of the read images forelectronic album creation; in response to a designation from a user,setting important images from among the images being displayed on thedisplay screen; and controlling the display device so as to display onthe display screen an electronic album created using the number ofimages for electronic album creation in such a manner that a proportionof important images, which have been set, included in the electronicalbum is larger than a proportion of included images other than theimportant images.

The present invention further provides a recording medium storing aprogram for controlling a computer of an electronic album apparatus. Itmay also be arranged to provide such a program.

In accordance with the present invention, a number of images forcreating an electronic album are read and at least some of these readimages are displayed on a display screen. Important images aredesignated by the user from among the number of displayed images. Byusing the number of images for electronic album creation, an electronicalbum is created in such a manner that the proportion of designatedimportant images will exceed the proportion of images other than theimportant images. The electronic album thus created will be displayed onthe display screen. Although the electronic album will contain theimportant images designated by the user and the images other than theimportant images, the proportion of important images designated by theuser will be greater. As a result, an electronic album in line with theuser's intentions will be obtained.

By way of example, the electronic album display control device controlsthe display device so as to display on the display screen an electronicalbum created in such a manner that a proportion of images, which areincluded in the electronic album, considered identical with theimportant images set by the important image setting device is largerthan a proportion of included images other than the images consideredidentical with the important images.

The apparatus may further include an excluded image setting device(excluded image setting means) responsive to a designation from the userfor setting excluded images from among the images being displayed on thedisplay screen under control of the electronic album image displaycontrol device. In this case, the electronic album display device would,by way of example, control the display device so as to display on thedisplay screen an electronic album that has been created so as toexclude the excluded images set by the excluded image setting device.

The apparatus may include: a page image display control device (pageimage display control means) for controlling the display device so as todisplay on the display screen the important images set by theimportant-image setting device and a page image that constitutes theelectronic album and, moreover, includes image display frames thatdefine image display positions; and a layout image display controldevice (layout image display control means) for controlling the displayscreen so as to display an important image, which has been designated bythe user from among the important images being displayed under thecontrol of the electronic album image display control device, in aprescribed image display frame designated by the user. In this case, theelectronic album display control device would, by way of example,control the display device so as to display on the display screen anelectronic album created in such a manner that images related to theimportant image designated by the user are displayed in image displayframes nearby the prescribed image display frame designated by the user.

The apparatus may further include a theme setting device (theme settingmeans) for setting a theme of the electronic album. In this case, theelectronic album image display control device would, by way of example,control the display device so as to display on the display screen imagesfor electronic album creation that match the theme set by the themesetting device.

The theme setting device is capable of setting a person whose imageshave been captured, an event where images have been captured, a locationwhere images have been captured or image-capture date and time as atheme of the electronic album.

The apparatus may further include at least one of a creation device(creation means) for creating an electronic album, using the images forelectronic album creation, in such a manner that a proportion ofimportant images, which have been set by the important image settingdevice, included in the electronic album is larger than a proportion ofincluded images other than the important images, or a communication unitfor sending data, which represents the images for electronic albumcreation read by the reading device, to an album layout unit, andreceiving an electronic album transmitted from the album layout unit,the electronic album having been created in the album layout unit insuch a manner that a proportion of important images, which have been setby the important image setting device, included in the electronic albumis larger than a proportion of included images other than the importantimages. In this case, the electronic album display control device wouldcontrol the display device so as to display on the display screen theelectronic album created by the creation device or the electronic albumreceived by the communication unit.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate thesame or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 to 8 are functional block diagrams each illustrating anelectronic album apparatus;

FIG. 9 illustrates the manner in which an electronic album of shootingevents is created;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are functional block diagrams of each illustrating anelectronic album apparatus;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the electrical configurations ofan over-the-counter accepting apparatus and album layout apparatus;

FIGS. 13 to 15 are flowcharts illustrating processing executed by theover-the-counter accepting apparatus and album layout apparatus;

FIGS. 16 to 18 are examples of display screens of the over-the-counteraccepting apparatus;

FIG. 19 is an example of a person category table; and

FIGS. 20 and 21 are examples of display screens of the over-the-counteraccepting apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 11 are functional block diagrams of an electronic albumapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 1, as electronic album apparatus 1 includes imagereading means 4. A number of image files for electronic album creation,which have been stored on a recording medium such as a memory cardcarried by the user, are read by the image reading means 4. Theintentions of the user, such as the overall theme of the electronicalbum and the theme of each page of the album, are checked by customerintention confirmation means 3. Using basic album layout designationmeans 2, the user designates the basic layout of the electronic album,such as the number of pages and number of images on each page. Further,using a number of images represented by the image files read by theimage reading means 4, automatic image selection/automatic layout means5 (“/” means “and” in this specification) generates an electronic albumhaving the number of pages, etc., designated in the basic album layoutdesignation means 2 as well as the overall theme, etc., confirmed by thecustomer intention confirmation means 3. The electronic album generatedis revised by layout revision means 6 and is then stored in image memorymeans 7.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an electronic album apparatus 1Ahaving other functions. Components in FIG. 2 identical with those shownin FIG. 1 are designated by like reference characters and need not bedescribed again.

The electronic album apparatus 1A includes customer specifyinginformation acquisition means 8 and customer specifyinginformation/customer intention/designation information storage means 9.Information specifying the user is acquired by the customer specifyinginformation acquisition means 8, and user intentions obtained in thecustomer intention confirmation means 3 are stored in the customerspecifying information/customer intention/designation informationstorage means 9.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an electronic album apparatus1B. Components in FIG. 3 identical with those shown in drawings such asFIG. 1 are designated by like reference characters and need not bedescribed again.

The electronic album apparatus 1B includes customer intentionconfirmation means 3B corresponding to the customer intentionconfirmation means 3 described above. The customer intentionconfirmation means 3B includes person preference setting means 11, eventpreference setting means 12, location preference setting means 13 andtime preference setting means 14. In a case where the user intends tocreate an electronic album about a preferred person, in which a specificperson is to be adopted as the theme, the person preference settingmeans 11 is set. In a case where the user intends to create anelectronic album in which a specific event is to be adopted as thetheme, the event preference setting means 12 is set. In a case where theuser intends to create an electronic album in which the location ofimage capture is to be adopted as the theme, the location preferencesetting means 13 is set. In a case where the user intends to create anelectronic album in which the time of image capture is to be adopted asthe theme, the time preference setting means 14 is set. Themes set bythese setting means 11 to 14 are selected in preference selection means16 via switching means 15. An electronic album is generated inaccordance with the selected theme.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of an electronic album apparatus1C. Components in FIG. 4 identical with those shown in drawings such asFIG. 1 are designated by like reference characters and need not bedescribed again.

Customer intention confirmation means 3C, which corresponds to thecustomer intention confirmation means 3 described above, includeschapter setup/page composition setting means 18 and preference selectionmeans 16. A theme such as chapter setup and page composition in linewith user intention is set by the chapter setup/page composition settingmeans 18, and the set theme is selected by the preference selectionmeans 16. An electronic album in accordance with the selected theme isgenerated.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an electronic album apparatus10. Components in FIG. 5 identical with those shown in drawings such asFIG. 1 are designated by like reference characters and need not bedescribed again.

Page composition information and the like is input to the electronicalbum apparatus 1D from chapter setup/page composition input means 19.An electronic album is created using the page composition informationthat is input thereto.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of an electronic album apparatus1E. Components in FIG. 6 identical with those shown in drawings such asFIG. 1 are designated by like reference characters and need not bedescribed again.

Customer intention confirmation means 3E, which corresponds to thecustomer intention confirmation means 3 described above, includes personclass/priority designation means 21 and subject person listcreation/presentation means 22. The subject person listcreation/presentation means 22 creates and presents a list of personswho are the photographic subjects. From within the person list presentedby the subject person list creation/presentation means 22, the personclass/priority designation means 21 designates person classes such aspersons to be included in the electronic album, persons not to beincluded in the electronic album (persons the user does not wish to see)and irrelevant persons (persons who may be ignored), and designates apriority among these person classes.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of an electronic album apparatus1F. Components in FIG. 7 identical with those shown in drawings such asFIG. 1 are designated by like reference characters and need not bedescribed again.

Customer intention confirmation means 3G, which corresponds to thecustomer intention confirmation means 3 described above, includeschapter setup/page-by-page principal character designation means 23 inaddition to the person class/priority designation means 21 and subjectperson list creation/presentation means 22. The principal character ofeach chapter or each page is designated by the chaptersetup/page-by-page principal character designation means 23, and anelectronic album is created in which the principal character designatedin each chapter or on each page is the main character.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of an electronic album apparatus1G. Components in FIG. 8 identical with those shown in drawings such asFIG. 1 are designated by like reference characters and need not bedescribed again.

The customer intention confirmation means 3G, which corresponds to thecustomer intention confirmation means 3 described above, includesshooting date and time acquisition means 24 and event selection/chaptersetup/page composition input means 25. A number of images represented byimage files that have been read by the image reading means 4 are groupedinto multiple image groups 40 to 45 per shooting date and time acquiredby the shooting date and time acquisition means 24, as illustrated inFIG. 9. If images are images that have been captured in the same event,the shooting dates and times will be close together. Therefore, thegroups of images of the respective image groups 40 to 45 dividedaccording to shooting date and time are considered to have been obtainedin the respective events. Images are extracted per each of the imagegroups 40 to 45 and are assigned to a first page 31, second page 32 andfinal page 3 n of an electronic album 30. For example, an electronicalbum of events can be created in such a manner that the album cover andfirst and second pages will be images of a wedding ceremony, the thirdand fourth pages will be images of a honeymoon journey, the fifth pagewill be images of a summer holiday and the final page will be images ofa family gathering.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of an electronic album apparatus1H. Components in FIG. 10 identical with those shown in drawings such asFIG. 1 are designated by like reference characters and need not bedescribed again.

Customer intention confirmation means 3H, which corresponds to thecustomer intention confirmation means 3 described above, includesshooting location information acquisition means 26 and importantlocation/chapter setup/page composition input means 27. The shootinglocation information acquisition means 26 acquires the shooting locationof images for an electronic album. The shooting location informationacquisition means 26 is capable of acquiring the shooting location byreading the shooting location recorded in the header of the image file.By acquiring the shooting location from the image file, it is possibleto create an electronic album in which images for which the shootinglocations are close together are gathered together on the same page. Forexample, it is possible to assign images of seasonal scenery to thealbum cover, assign seasonal images of one's residential surroundings tothe first and second pages, assign seasonal images of Mt. Fuji to thethird and fourth pages, assign seasonal images of Mt. Haku to the fifthand sixth pages, and assign images of the user's home and surroundingsto the seventh and eighth pages. Similarly, it is possible to assignimages of a principal journey to the album cover, assign images of theuser's home and surroundings to the first and second pages, assignimages of a journey to Atami to the third and fourth pages, assignimages of a journey to Nara and Kyoto to the fifth and sixth pages, andassign images of a journey to Hokkaido to the seventh and eighth pages.Further, images that center on places often visited by the user or onother specific locations can also be assigned to the electronic album.Thus, an electronic album limited to important locations can be created,and it is also possible to assign images to an electronic albumuniformly without limitation with regard to important locations.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of an electronic album apparatus1I. Components in FIG. 11 identical with those shown in drawings such asFIG. 1 are designated by like reference characters and need not bedescribed again.

Customer intention confirmation means 3I, which corresponds to thecustomer intention confirmation means 3 described above, includes theshooting date and time acquisition means 24 and chapter setup/pagecomposition input means 27. Shooting date and time recorded in theheader of an image file for an electronic album is acquired by theshooting date and time acquisition means 24. The chapters and pagesconstituting the electronic album based upon the acquired date and timewill be in line with the intentions of the user. For example, anelectronic album can be created in such a manner that the album coverwill have images of the user playing with children, the first and secondpages will have images of play, and the third and fourth pages will haveimages of sleeping faces.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the electrical configurations ofan over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 and album layout apparatus 50constituting an electronic album apparatus.

The over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 and album layout apparatus50 are capable of communicating with each other via network such as theInternet. Naturally, a single apparatus combining the over-the-counteraccepting apparatus 40 and album layout apparatus 50 may be constructedas the electronic album apparatus. Although the over-the-counteraccepting apparatus 40 is installed in a store such as a supermarket orconvenience store, it may be arranged so that the functions of theover-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 are incorporated in a personalcomputer and an electronic album is created by making it possible forthe personal computer and album layout apparatus 50 to communicate witheach other.

The overall operation of the over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 iscontrolled by a CPU 41.

The over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 includes a CD-ROM drive 49.When a CD-ROM 49A, which contains an operation program for controllingoperation described later, is loaded in the CD-ROM drive 49, theoperation program is read by the CD-ROM drive 49. The operationdescribed later is carried out by installing the read operation programin the over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40. It may of course bearranged so that the operation program is received via a network andthen installed without the program having been stored on a recordingmedium such as the CD-ROM 49A. Further, a memory 46 for storing data andthe like temporarily is also connected to the CPU 41.

The over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 is provided with a mediainterface 45. Image files for an electronic album, which have beenstored on a memory card 48 brought by the user, are read by the mediainterface 45. The read images files are stored in the memory 46temporarily.

The over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 includes a display unit 43controlled by a display controller 42. Read images and the like aredisplayed on the display screen of the display unit 43. Atouch-sensitive panel 44 is formed on the display screen of the displayunit 43. Commands and the like from the user are applied to theover-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 by utilizing the touch-sensitivepanel 44. The over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 also includes acommunication unit 47 for communicating with the album layout apparatus50.

The overall operation of the album layout apparatus 50 is controlled bya CPU 51.

The album layout apparatus 50 is provided with a CD-ROM drive 55. Byloading a CD-ROM 56, which contains an operation program for controllingoperation described later, in the CD-ROM drive 55, the operation programis read and installed in the album layout apparatus 50. Furtherconnected to the CPU 51 is a memory 53 for storing data temporarily.

Further, the album layout apparatus 50 includes a database 54 forstoring data and the like representing a created electronic album. Thealbum layout apparatus 50 further includes a communication unit 52 forcommunicating with the over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40.

FIGS. 13 to 15 are flowcharts illustrating processing executed by theover-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 and album layout apparatus 50.

A user wishing to create an electronic album proceeds to theover-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 taking with him the memory card48 storing a number of image files for the electronic album. A startarea, which is being displayed on the display screen of the display unit43 of the over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40, is touched by theuser, whereupon a user ID input area appears on the display screen. Theuser inputs a previously acquired user ID and logs in to theover-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 (step 61). In response, anelectronic album theme selection menu is displayed on the display screenof the over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 (step 62). Utilizing theelectronic album theme selection menu, the user selects (sets) the themeof the electronic album (step 63).

FIG. 16 is an example of an electronic album theme selection menu 91displayed on a display screen 90.

The electronic album theme selection menu 91 includes an imaged persontheme setting area 92 bearing characters reading “IMAGED PERSON”; ashooting event theme setting area 93 bearing characters reading“SHOOTING EVENT”; a shooting location theme setting area 94 bearingcharacters reading “SHOOTING LOCATION”; and a shooting date and timetheme setting area 95 bearing characters reading “SHOOTING DATE ANDTIME”. The areas 92 to 95 are utilized when the user sets a theme for anelectronic album. The imaged person theme setting area 92 is touched bythe user when an imaged person is adopted as the theme of the electronicalbum to be created. The shooting event theme setting area 93 is touchedby the user when a shooting event is adopted as the theme of theelectronic album to be created. The shooting location theme setting area94 is touched by the user when a shooting location is adopted as thetheme of the electronic album to be created. The shooting date and timetheme setting area 95 is touched by the user when the shooting date andtime is adopted as the theme of the electronic album to be created. Bytouching any one of the areas 92 to 95, the user sets the theme of theelectronic album to be created.

The electronic album theme selection menu 91 further includes a decisionarea 96 bearing characters reading “DECIDE”, and quit area 97 bearingcharacters reading “QUIT”. The decision area 96 is touched by the userwhen the user decides upon a theme corresponding to the area touched bythe user among the areas 92 to 95. The quit area 97 is touched by theuser when creation of the electronic album is terminated.

With reference again to FIG. 13, it is assumed in this embodiment thatthe theme set is an imaged person (“YES” at step 64). When this theme isset, data representing the set theme is sent from the over-the-counteraccepting apparatus 40 to the album layout apparatus 50. A personpriority layout program corresponding to the set theme is launched inthe album layout apparatus 50 (step 81).

When the theme of the electronic album is set, a media insertion imageis displayed on the display screen (step 65). The user who has broughtthe memory card 48 inserts the card into the over-the-counter acceptingapparatus 40. When this is done, a number of image files that have beenstored on the memory card 48 are read by the over-the-counter acceptingapparatus 40 (step 66).

An album base information setting image is displayed on theover-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 (step 67).

FIG. 17 is one example of an album base information setting image 101displayed on the display screen 90.

The album base information setting image 101 is for inputting basicinformation about the electronic album to be created. The album baseinformation setting image 101 includes a page number display area 102, atime period display area 103, and background setting areas 104 and 105bearing characters reading “YES” and “NO”, respectively. When the pagenumber display area 102 is touched, a pull-down or pull-up image appearsin the area 102. By touching the pull-down or pull-up image, the pagesof the electronic album are entered and displayed in the area 102.Similarly, when the time period display area 103 is touched, a calendaris displayed and the shooting time period is set using the displayedcalendar. The electronic album is created using images that werecaptured within the set shooting time period. In a case where abackground is set for each page constituting the electronic album, thearea 104 bearing the characters reading “YES” is touched. When this isdone, background sample images that include a number of backgroundsamples appear on the display screen 90. A background is selectedutilizing the background samples included in the background sampleimages. In a case where a background is not to be set for each pageconstituting the electronic album, the area 105 bearing the charactersreading “NO” is touched. When input of the number of pages of theelectronic album is finished, the user touches the quit area 97.

With reference to FIG. 14, the over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40generates thumbnail images of images represented by image files, whichhave been obtained by image capture within the set time period, fromamong the image files read from the memory card 48 (step 68). Datarepresenting the generated thumbnail images is sent from theover-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 to the album layout apparatus 50and is received by the album layout apparatus 50 (step 82). It goeswithout saying that whether an image file is one obtained by imagecapture within the set time period can be ascertained if the shootingdate and time recorded in the header of the image file is checked, atset forth above. Face detection and face recognition are carried outusing the generated thumbnail images or the read images, and face imagesof the same person (or the images themselves) are displayed on thedisplay screen 90 in the order of frequency of capture (step 69). Sincethe theme of the electronic album that has been set by the user is aperson whose images have been captured, images such as scenery images inwhich the person does not appear are not displayed; the images displayedare images (face images) that are in accordance with the theme. It goeswithout saying that which images are images in accordance with the themeare predetermined for every theme.

FIG. 18 illustrates the manner in which face images of the same personare being displayed on the display screen 90 in order of frequency ofappearance.

A face image list display area 111 has been formed on the display screen90. Face images are being displayed in the area 111 in order offrequency of appearance in such a manner that the same person can bedistinguished from other persons.

Face images 112 in the first row are the face images of a person havingthe highest frequency of appearance. Similarly, face images 113 in thesecond row, face images 114 in the third row, face images 115 in thefourth row and face images 116 in the fifth row are the face images ofpersons having the second, third, fourth and fifth highest frequenciesof appearance, respectively. These face images 112 to 116 are such thatface images of the same person are arranged in the same row. Byscrolling in the horizontal direction, face images not being displayedin the area 111 will appear in the area 111. By scrolling in thevertical direction, face images having other frequencies of appearancenot being displayed in the area 111 will appear in the area 111.

Formed on the right side of the face image list display area 111 are animportant image setting area 121 bearing characters reading “IMPORTANT”,an irrelevant image setting area 122 bearing characters reading“IRRELEVANT”, and an excluded image setting area 123 bearing charactersreading “EXCLUDED”. The important image setting area 121 is utilizedwhen the user decides that an image among the read images is consideredimportant. The irrelevant image setting area 122 is utilized when theuser decides that an image among the read images is neither importantnor unimportant. The excluded image setting area 123 is utilized whenthe user decides that an image among the read images is one not desiredto be placed in the electronic album.

From among the face images being displayed in the face image listdisplay area 111, the face image of a person that the user considersimportant is dragged and dropped onto the important image setting area121, whereby the image containing the person specified by this image isdecided upon as an important image. Similarly, from among the faceimages being displayed in the face image list display area 111, the faceimage of a person that the user considers neither important norunimportant is dragged and dropped onto the irrelevant image settingarea 122, whereby the image containing the person specified by thisimage is decided upon as an irrelevant image, and the face image of aperson that the user considers unimportant is dragged and dropped ontothe excluded image setting area 123, whereby the image containing theperson specified by this image is decided upon as an excluded image.When important images and the like are decided, the user touches thedecision area 96.

With reference again to FIG. 14, persons are classified into categories(important, irrelevant, excluded) in response to the user decidingimportant images and the like in the manner described above (step 70).When this is done, person category data is sent from theover-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 to the album layout apparatus 50(step 71). The person category data sent from the over-the-counteraccepting apparatus 40 is received by the album layout apparatus 50(step 83).

FIG. 19 is an example of person category data (in the form of a table).

“IMPORTANT”, “IRRELEVANT” and “EXCLUDED” have been defined as personcategories. Pluralities of face images 131 to 135, 141 to 145 and 151 to155 have been defined in correspondence with these person categories.The face images 131 to 135 are face images that have been dragged anddropped onto the important image setting area 121, as described abovewith reference to FIG. 18, or the face images (ascertained by facerecognition processing) of a person whose face image is the same asthese face images. These face images 131 to 135 may include a pluralityof face images of the same person or only a representative face image ofthe same person. Similarly, the face images 141 to 145 are face imagesthat have been dragged and dropped onto the irrelevant image settingarea 122 or the face images of a person whose face image is the same asthese face images, and the face images 151 to 155 are face images thathave been dragged and dropped onto the excluded image setting area 123or the face images of a person whose face image is the same as theseface images. Thus, which persons are important, irrelevant or subject toexclusion can be ascertained from the person category data.

With reference to FIG. 15, a user layout image is displayed on thedisplay screen 90 of the over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 (step72). By utilizing the user layout image displayed on the display screen90, the user can cause each page constituting the electronic album toreflect the user's own intentions (step 73).

FIG. 20 is an example of a user layout image.

The user layout image includes a layout list display area 160, a pageimage display area 170 and an important person list display area 180.Displayed in the layout list display area 160 are a plurality ofpredetermined layout images 161, 162, etc., of each page that willconstitute the electronic album. The pages that will constitute theelectronic album are displayed in the page image display area 170 fromthe top down in the order of the pages. From among the layout imagesbeing displayed in the layout list display area 160, the user drags anddrops the layout image having the desired layout in such a manner thatthis layout image will be that of the desired page. For example, in acase where the user desires the layout of layout image 162 to be thelayout of the first and second pages of the electronic album, the userdrags and drops the layout image 162 so that it will be at the top ofeach page image being displayed in the page image display area 170.Similarly, in a case where the user desires the layout of layout image161 to be the layout of the third and fourth pages of the electronicalbum, the user drags and drops the layout image 161 so that it will bethe second from the top of each page image being displayed in the pageimage display area 170. For example, a page image 171 is that of thefirst and second pages, a page image 172 is that of the third and fourthpages, and a page image 173 is that of the fifth and sixth pages. Imagedisplay frames 191 to 193 to which images are to be assigned have beenformed in the page image 171 (image frame areas are similarly formed inthe other page images as well).

An important person list 181 is displayed in the important person listdisplay area 180. Different face images of the same person are beingdisplayed in the important person list 181 per row thereof. For example,face images 182 (or full images rather than face images) in the firstrow of the important person list 181 represent different face images ofa person classified into a category as an important person in the mannerdescribed above. Similarly, face images 183 in the second row of theimportant person list 181 represent a person (a person different fromthe person of faces images 182) classified into a category as animportant person. Face images 184 in the third row of the importantperson list 181 represent a person different from those of the faceimages 182 and 183 but one classified into a category as an importantperson. From among the face images (or full images) included in theimportant person list 181, the user drags and drops a desired face imageinto a desired image display frame of a desired page image among thepage images being displayed in the page image display area 170. Inresponse, the image that has been dragged and dropped is displayedwithin this image display frame. It goes without saying that in a casewhere the images being displayed in the important person list 181 areface images, the full image that includes the dragged and dropped faceimage is displayed within the image display frame. In this way a desiredimportant person being displayed in the important person list 181 can beassigned to a desired image display frame of a desired page image. Itmay also be arranged to execute automatic layout processing, which willbe described later, in such a manner that an image display frameincluded in a page image identical with a page image to which the imageof an important person has been assigned will have assigned to it animage that includes the assigned important person. The important personwill thus not fail to be included on each page image. For example, anelectronic album can be created in such a manner that one's first-bornson will always be included on the first and second pages of the albumand one's second-born son always included on the third and fourth pages.It thus becomes possible to create an electronic album in line with theuser's intentions not just for the entire electronic album but on aper-page basis. It is of course permissible to employ automatic layout(step 85), described later, without executing layout processinginvolving the user at steps 72 and 73.

When layout by the user is finished, the user touches the decision area96, whereupon the layout information representing the album layoutperformed by the user (namely such information as the sequence of thepage images and which images were dragged and dropped into which of theimage display frames of which page images) is sent from theover-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 to the album layout apparatus 50(step 74).

When the layout information sent from the over-the-counter acceptingapparatus 40 is received by the album layout apparatus 50 (step 84), thealbum layout apparatus 50 executes automatic layout based upon thereceived layout information (step 85). In automatic layout, images areassigned to image display frames other than the image display framesinto which images were dragged and dropped by the user in the mannerdescribed above. It may be arranged so that important persons areassigned to all image display frames, as described above, or it may bearranged so that the images of important persons are assigned to imagedisplay frames in a proportion greater than the proportion of images ofirrelevant persons assigned to image display frames. In either case, theproportion of images of important persons included in the electronicalbum will be greater than the proportion of images of irrelevantpersons included in the electronic album. Further, automatic layout isperformed in such a manner that images of excluded persons are notincluded in the electronic album.

When automatic layout is performed in the album layout apparatus 50 andimages are assigned to the image display frames of all page imagesconstituting the electronic album, data representing such as electronicalbum is sent from the album layout apparatus 50 to the over-the-counteraccepting apparatus 40 (step 86).

When the data representing the electronic album sent from the albumlayout apparatus 50 is received by the over-the-counter acceptingapparatus 40 (step 75), a layout revision image 210 is displayed on thedisplay screen 90 of the over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 inorder to revise the layout and check the content of the electronic album(step 76).

FIG. 21 is an example of the layout revision image 210.

The page image 171 constituting the electronic album is being displayedat the upper left of the layout revision image 210. The page image 171includes the image display frames 191, 192 and 193. Images assigned bythe user or images assigned by automatic layout are being displayed inthese image display frames 191, 192 and 193.

Below the page image 171 is a list display area 200 in which thumbnailimages 201 of the images read from the memory card 48 are beingdisplayed in order of shooting date and time. Displayed on the rightside of the page image 171 are a delete area 211 bearing charactersreading “DELETE”; an image temporary placement area 212 bearingcharacters reading “IMAGE TEMPORARY PLACEMENT”; an exclusion area 213bearing characters reading “EXCLUDE”; a next-page area 214 bearingcharacters reading “NEXT PAGE”; a previous-page area 215 bearingcharacters reading “PREVIOUS PAGE”; and the decision area 96 and quitarea 97. When the images being displayed in the image display areas 191,192, 193 of the page image 171 displayed in the layout revision image210 are to be deleted and other images assigned, the images beingdisplayed in these image display frames are dragged and dropped onto thedelete area 211. When the images being displayed in the image displayareas 191, 192, 193 of the page image 171 displayed in the layoutrevision image 210 are to be removed temporarily, the images beingdisplayed in these image display frames are dragged and dropped onto thetemporary placement area 212. The images that have been dragged anddropped onto the temporary placement area 212 are displayed on thetemporary placement area 212 and are again dragged and dropped onto theimage display frames 191, 192, 193 from the temporary placement area212, whereby they are assigned to the image display frames 191, 192, 193onto which they have been dragged and dropped. The exclusion area 213 isutilized to exclude the image of a person from the electronic album.Specifically, by dragging and dropping an image onto the exclusion area213, the image of the person contained in this dragged and dropped imageis excluded from the electronic album. By touching the next-page area214, the page image that follows the page image 171 currently beingdisplayed in the layout revision image 210 is displayed. By touching theprevious-page area 215, the page image preceding the page image 171currently being displayed in the layout revision image 210 is displayed.By dragging and dropping onto the delete area 211 the images that havebeen assigned to the image display frames 191, 192, 193 of the pageimage 171, the image display frames to which these images had beenassigned become blank. By dragging and dropping onto a blank imagedisplay frame a thumbnail image 201 being displayed in the list displayarea 200, the image corresponding to this thumbnail image 201 is newlyassigned to the image display frame.

When the electronic album is revised in the manner described above,revised layout information representing the revised layout is sent fromthe over-the-counter accepting apparatus 40 to the album layoutapparatus 50 (step 78).

When the revised layout information sent from the over-the-counteraccepting apparatus 40 is received by the album layout apparatus 50(step 87), the album data that has been stored in the database 54 isrevised (step 88).

In the foregoing embodiment, a person whose image has been captured isselected as the overall theme of the electronic album. However, similarprocessing can be implemented also in a case where a shooting event,shooting location or shooting date and time has been selected. Forexample, if a shooting event has been selected as the overall theme ofthe overall electronic album, it can be ascertained which event imagesfrom among a number of images are important by dragging and dropping oneor multiple important event images onto the important image setting area121 (see FIG. 18). Therefore it is judged that an image captured atapproximately the same time as such an event image is an importantimage. An electronic album can be created by gathering only suchimportant event images. Further, by dragging and dropping the image ofan event onto each page, as shown in FIG. 20, each page can be made animage of a common event. Further, if a shooting location has beenselected as the overall theme of the electronic album, it can beascertained which shooting-location images from among a number of imagesare important by dragging and dropping one or multiple importantshooting-location images onto the important image setting area 121. Anelectronic album can be created by gathering only such importantshooting locations. By dragging and dropping the image of shootinglocation onto each page, as shown in FIG. 20, each page can be made animage of a shooting location. It goes without saying that at whichshooting location an image has been captured will have been recorded inthe header contained in the image file. Furthermore, if shooting dateand time has been selected as the overall theme of the electronic album,then, by dragging and dropping the image of a specific page image, asshown in FIG. 20, an image captured at approximately the same date andtime as that of this image can be assigned to the same page. Thus, anelectronic album intended by the user can be created per page image.Naturally, common images such as images containing a specific person donot have to be assigned to the same page image; it will suffice if acommon image is assigned to a nearby image display frame even if thepage image is a different page image. Thus an image related to animportant image designated by the user will be displayed in a nearbyimage display frame.

Furthermore, in the foregoing embodiment, there is one level of priorityfor important images but it may be arranged so that priority can bechanged among important images. For example, the image of a first-bornson or second-born son may be adopted as an important image of highestpriority, the image of one's mother may be adopted as an important imageof the next highest priority, and the image of one's father may beadopted as an important image given priority last. For example,automatic layout can be performed in such a manner that the proportionof images included in an electronic album is reduced in order of degreeof importance.

In the foregoing embodiment, important persons (important images),excluded persons (excluded images), irrelevant persons (irrelevantimages) and the like may be stored in the over-the-counter acceptingapparatus 40 or album layout apparatus 50 per user ID. In a case wherethe user creates an electronic album again, processing similar to thatdescribed above can be executed utilizing important persons and the likealready stored.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of the present inventioncan be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it isto be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificembodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic album apparatus comprising: astorage storing instructions; and a processor executing the instructionsto perform: reading a number of originally-generated images forelectronic album creation, controlling a display device to display on adisplay screen at least some face images extracted from theoriginally-generated images for electronic album creation read by saidprocessor and to display on the display screen an important subjectperson setting area and an excluded subject person setting area,responsive to a designation from a user, setting a subject included inone of the face images which moves to the important subject personsetting area to an important subject from among subjects included in theface images being displayed on the display screen under the control ofsaid processor, setting a priority for the important subject higher thana priority for the subjects other than the important subject, andcontrolling the display device to display on the display screen anelectronic album created using the number of subjects for electronicalbum creation, wherein a proportion of a number of set importantsubjects having the higher priority included in the electronic album islarger than a proportion of a number of the included subjects other thanthe important subjects, wherein, responsive to a designation from theuser, the processor sets a subject included in one of the face imageswhich moves to the excluded subject person setting area to an excludedsubject from among subjects included in the face images being displayedon the display screen and controls the display device to display on thedisplay screen the electronic album that has been created to excludeoriginally-generated images including the set excluded subject, whereinall of the images, which include the set subject moved to the excludedsubject person setting area, are excluded from the electronic album. 2.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor controls thedisplay device to display on the display screen the electronic albumcreated such that a proportion of images, which are included in theelectronic album, considered identical with the face images includingthe set important subject, is larger than a proportion of includedimages other than the face images considered identical with the faceimages including the important subject.
 3. The apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the processor executes the instructions to performcontrolling the display device to display on the display screen theimages including the set important subjects and a page image thatconstitutes the electronic album and includes image display frames thatdefine image display positions, controlling the display screen todisplay one of the face images including an important subject, which hasbeen designated by the user from among the face images including theimportant subject being displayed under the control of said processor,in a prescribed image display frame designated by the user, andcontrolling the display device to display on the display screen theelectronic album created such that the images related to the importantsubject designated by the user are displayed in image display framesnearby the prescribed image display frame designated by the user.
 4. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor executes theinstructions to perform: setting a theme of the electronic album, andcontrolling the display device to display on the display screen imagesfor electronic album creation that match the set theme.
 5. The apparatusaccording to claim 4, wherein the processor executes the instructions toperform: setting one of a person whose images have been captured, anevent where images have been captured, a location where images have beencaptured or image-capture date and time as a theme of the electronicalbum.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processorexecutes the instructions to perform: creating the electronic album,using the originally-generated images for electronic album creation,such that a proportion of the important subjects, which have been set,included in the electronic album is larger than a proportion of includedsubjects other than the important subject, or the apparatus furthercomprises a communication device configured to send data, whichrepresents the read images for electronic album creation, and receive anelectronic album, the electronic album having been created such that aproportion of set important subjects, included in the electronic albumis larger than a proportion of included subjects other than theimportant subjects, and wherein the processor executes the instructionsto perform controlling the display device to display on the displayscreen the created electronic album or the received electronic albumreceived by said communication device.
 7. A method of controllingoperation of an electronic album apparatus, the method comprising:reading a number of originally-generated images for electronic albumcreation; controlling a display device to display on a display screen atleast some face images extracted from the read originally-generatedimages for electronic album creation and to display on the displayscreen an important subject person setting area and an excluded subjectperson setting area; in response to a designation from a user, setting asubject included in one of the face images which moves to the importantsubject person setting area to an important subject from among subjectsincluded in the face images being displayed on the display screen;setting a priority for the important subject higher than a priority forthe subjects other than the important subject; and controlling thedisplay device to display on the display screen an electronic albumcreated using the number of subjects for electronic album creation,wherein a proportion of the set important subjects having the higherpriority included in the electronic album is larger than a proportion ofthe included subjects other than the important subjects, wherein,responsive to a designation from the user, a subject included in one ofthe face images which moves to an excluded subject person setting areais set to an excluded subject from among the subjects included in theface images being displayed on the display screen, and the displaydevice is controlled to display on the display screen the electronicalbum that has been created to exclude originally-generated imagesincluding the set excluded subject, wherein all of the images, whichinclude the set subject moved to the excluded subject person settingarea, are excluded from the electronic album.
 8. A non-transitoryrecording medium storing a computer-readable program for controlling acomputer of an electronic album apparatus to: read a number oforiginally-generated images for electronic album creation; control adisplay device to display on a display screen at least some face imagesextracted from the originally-generated images for electronic albumcreation and to display on the display screen an important subjectperson setting area and an excluded subject person setting area; inresponse to a designation from a user, set a subject included in one ofthe face images which moves to the important image setting area to animportant subject from among subjects included in the face images beingdisplayed on the display screen; set a priority for the importantsubject higher than a priority for the subjects other than the importantsubject; and control the display device to display on the display screenan electronic album created using the number of subjects for electronicalbum creation, wherein a proportion of the set important subjectshaving the higher priority included in the electronic album is largerthan a proportion of the included subjects other than the importantsubjects, wherein, responsive to a designation from the user, a subjectincluded in one of the face images which moves to the excluded subjectperson setting area is set to an excluded subject from among thesubjects being displayed on the display screen, and the display deviceis controlled to display on the display screen the electronic album thathas been created to exclude originally-generated images including theset excluded subject, wherein all of the images, which include the setsubject moved to the excluded subject person setting area, are excludedfrom the electronic album.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the subject image which is dragged and dropped onto theimportant subject person setting area is the important subject.
 10. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor executes theinstructions to additionally perform: controlling the display screen todisplay on the screen an important person list, and controlling thedisplay device to display on the display screen the set importantsubjects and a page image that constitutes the electronic album andincludes image display frames that define image display positions, andwherein an important person image which is dragged and dropped onto theimage display frame is assigned to the image display frame.
 11. Theapparatus according to claim 10, wherein in the important person list,different face images of the same person are being displayed.
 12. Theapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the processor executes theinstructions to additionally perform: layout processing such that animage display frame, included in a page image identical with a pageimage to which the image of an important person has been assigned, isassigned an image that includes the assigned important person.
 13. Theapparatus according to claim 12, wherein a subject dragged and droppedonto the excluded image setting area is the excluded subject.
 14. Theapparatus according to claim 12, wherein the processor is responsive toa designation of every page image for setting every page image as animportant image.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein theprocessor executes the instructions to additionally perform: controllingthe display device to display on the display screen a temporaryplacement area, wherein when the images displayed in the image displayframe of the page image are to be removed temporarily, the images beingdisplayed in the display frame are dragged and dropped onto thetemporary placement area.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 15,wherein the images that have been dragged and dropped onto the temporaryplacement area are displayed on the temporary placement area.
 17. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein, responsive to a designationfrom the user, the processor sets irrelevant images, and uses the imagesincluding the subject included in the set irrelevant images, the imagesof an event the same as an event of the irrelevant images, the images ofan imaging location the same as an imaging location of the irrelevantimages, or the images of an imaging date and time the same as an imagingdate and time of the irrelevant images, as the images other than theface images including the important subject.
 18. The apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the processor further executes the instruction toperform: controlling the display device to display on the display screenat least some of the face images for electronic album creation read bythe processor in order of frequency of appearance of a subject includedin the read originally-generated images such that the same subject isdistinguished from other subjects.